Au Pays du Mufle

Paris: Léon Vanier, 1891. From the Bart Auerbach Collection. Some wear and soiling. Preface by Armand Silvestre. 12mo. Contemporary black and white decorated boards, red roan spine label, original tan printed wrappers bound in, untrimmed. First edition of this volume of invective verse. A marked up copy, presumably for the second edition of 1894, and with two ALSs by Tailhade tipped in: 1) 1/12/95 "Cher ami j'ignore absolument le jour prècis de l'echjieance en question..." . 2) "Excusez moi d'insister comme je fais, mon cher editeur et ami. Il m'est indispensable d'obtenir de vouz, au plus tôt, dix exemplaires du 'Mufle'.. . On verso of the title is the printed designation of this copy to Mme le Comtesse de Beausacq (the printed dedication to André Cogné faces this): the edition was designated on the colophon of other copies as being of 400 copies on Holland and 25 on Japon impérial. This copy is on Japon. Marie Joséphine de Suin, Comtesse de Beausacq by marriage (1829-1899) was a woman of letters known by the name of Ville de Comtesse de Beausacq and the pen name of Countess Diane. Tailhade (1854-1919), a member of Verlaine and Mallarmé's circle, was a French satirical poet, anarchist polemicist, essayist, and translator, active in Paris in the 1890s and early 1900s and was known to use at least seven pseudonyms. (BA).